On Friday, Paul George carried the Pacers past the Heat and stuffed the stat sheet in the process. He compiled 36 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block in a game that made it clear that George is back to his All-Star form after suffering a gruesome injury while playing for team USA last year. Indiana will play the Cavs on Sunday in a matchup against the Eastern Conference’s best player, LeBron James.
It wasn’t long ago that George was going toe-to-toe with James in the playoffs and elevating his status among the league’s best. If he continues to dominate games like he did on Friday night, the Pacers could be another serious challenger to the Cavs in the East and George may have a shot at winning his first MVP award. It might be too early to set expectations that high, but if George can lead his team to a top four seed come playoff time, he should easily be regarded as one of the top players in the Eastern Conference.
That leads us to tonight’s shootaround topic: Who are the top three players in the Eastern Conference right now?
George’s game against Miami may have firmly planted him in the conversation, but other stars such as Carmelo Anthony, John Wall and Chris Bosh, who had 21 points and 11 rebounds in the same game, might have something to say about that. Kyle Lowry, who has led his team to a 5-1 record while sporting a 21.9 player efficiency rating, deserves attention as well.
Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the matter. We look forward to what you have to say.
lebron, paul george, and maybe andre drummond???? (maybe a little premature on him)
DeMar DeRozan deserve to be in the conversation as well. Hugely underrated playing up north.
not sure about this man…think hes the second best player on his own team
I agree with the underrated part. He’s been playing great, but let’s see him do it a bit longer before putting him in this category.
Lebron George Melo
Andre Drummond is playing himself into this conversation
Drummond needs to do less to get into this conversation. A dominate center almost always trumps dominance at other positions. The Pistons are off to a fast start and Drummond certainly deserves All-Star attention, although as in the case with DeRozan, it’s early so I don’t want to overreact to a small sample size.
LeBron and George for sure. Melo right now but Wall, Lowry, Derozan, Bosh, and Wade are in the conversation. Beal, Butler, Parker, Drummond, Irving, and Greek Freak have the potential if they have good seasons
Slightly off topic, but if you think about it, this goes to show how unbalanced the East and West are just based on top players. If you tried to name the top 10 players in the league right now, LeBron is the only obvious guy from the East.
That’s a good point. The West is loaded with talent. I guess you could say Melo is a top 10 player, but that’s definitely not a consensus.
Essentially the locks for top 10 would be (in no specific order and in my opinion which means I could very well be wrong): LeBron, Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Curry, Davis and Griffin, Paul and Leonard. So basically you would have Cousins, George, Melo and maybe Wall “fighting” for that 10th spot.
LeBron, George for sure. Melo, Drummond, Beal, Wall, Derozan, Lowry, an Isaiah Thomas are all making a bid for number 3
Isaiah Thomas? I want to hear the case for him
He’s just a great scorer, plays good defense and is just an exciting player to watch. I’m not saying he’s top 3, but he’s making himself noticed.
Not to mention that has the ability to just undress you with his dribbling. He’s an emerging star if he can adapt to a half court game
Butler and Irving would both be ahead of Thomas. Not to diminish Thomas at all, he’s a really good player, but Butler definetly does more for his team and is a better player overall and Irving is a slightly taller, better offensive player than Thomas. Can’t speak to his or Thomas’ defense because I haven’t really watched them that much but theres no way Thomas is ahead of Butler and Irving.
Butler has been good, but if we’re going to bring up Bulls, we shouldn’t forget DRose. He’s starting to look like his old self again.
I think it’s gotta be John Wall & Paul George.